Tuesday, June 16, 2015

New Images of What Developer’s Luxury Tower Would look Like When It Kicks Out Brooklyn’s Central Destination Downtown Library, Stomps It Down To 1/3rd Size

Here are some new images, released in an information dump just before Wednesday’s Hearing (the 17th) on whether the public should approve the sale and shrinkage of the Brooklyn Heights Library, Brooklyn's central destination library in Downtown Brooklyn on Cadman Plaza West at Tillary and Clinton.

Guess what?: The new tower is not the 20-story tower or the 30-story
tower previously reported about in the press. It seems to be 36 stories (perhaps, with super-high ceilings, the equivalent of a taller
building) with leeway in its zoning envelope to grow.

Here, below, from the slick developer presentation the Brooklyn Heights Association chose to, and waited to be, a conduit of:

Here's a crop a little more in-between.

Here’s more information about Wednesday's hearing. If you care about libraries and/or want to stand up to rapacious developers expecting our elected representatives to do their biding, not ours you should come, because you can make a difference:

Meanwhile, quite relevant to what’s unfolding, there’s an article in the Brooklyn Heights Blog about Saint Ann’s, a private school, and its transfer of library development rights to this development. Saint Ann’s is taking cash and no longer taking any property for its involvement in this transaction.

What is reported in the Blog does NOT mean that Saint Ann's won't be benefitting from the deal, or that the benefit to Saint Ann's won't continue to HELP DRIVE this deal: Saint Ann's, selling its development rights, will still be getting very substantial cash (with which it could even subsequently buy that cultural space condominium Mr. Kramer, the developer, offers in the Blog article)- This information comes out just days before FIRST EVER hearing this Wednesday. That hearing starts the process to decide whether public approval should be given to sell and shrink a major NYC library, this one.

Previously it appeared Saint Ann’s was getting cashandproperty for its development rights. That property could have been a 20,000 square foot student theater. Based on these calculations, that theater (of "the an absurd public rip off") might have had a value of about $41.7 million. So what is Saint Ann’s now getting?: That ($41.7 million) plus more cash? Maybe $50-$55 million free and clear? While the Brooklyn Public Library nets considerably below $30 million? Perhaps effectively less than ZERO?

If these guesses about who is really getting the most benefit, a private school or the public, seem unfair, remember that this is information that Citizens Defending Libraries (of which I am a co-founder) has asked be disclosed by the BPL. The BPL devoted to its infinite lack of transparency has refused to provide the information.

About Me

NOTICING NEW YORK & NATIONAL NOTICE are both independent entities managed by Michael D. D. White of Hop-Skip Enterprises. Michael D. D. White is an attorney, urban planner and former government public finance and development official. *** Noticing New York covers New York development and associated politics. National Notice covers national policy and economic issues *** Contact: MichaelDDWhite(at)gmail.com